The present invention relates to a clamp assembly for temporarily clamping a tapping tee saddle to a pipe during fixing of the saddle to the pipe.
In FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings there is shown a perspective view of a tapping tee saddle 1 connected to a pipe 9. A tapping tee saddle is used for connecting two pipes of plastics material at an angle to one another. The saddle is particularly suitable for connecting together pipes intended to carry a fluid such as, for example, pipes forming part of a gas or water main system. The tapping tee saddle 1 includes a tubular body 3 extending from a plastics pad 5, and a branch pipe 7 which extends from the body 3. The pad 5 is of concave or saddle shape to sit on the pipe 9. In the case of a gas or water main, the pipe 9 will usually be the main pipe and the branch pipe 7 leads to a consumer point such as a house. The pad 5 and the main pipe 9 have to be heated in order that their plastics material may be fused or welded together to connect the tapping tee saddle 1 to the pipe 9. It is important that the saddle 1 and the pipe 9 remain pressed together during the fusing operation and hitherto the necessary pressure has been provided by various clamping devices. Previously known clamping devices present the problem that a particular clamp is suitable for use only with a main pipe 9 of a particular diameter. In addition, some known clamps do not exert their clamping pressure along the longitudinal axis of the tubular body 3, and this can cause problems of distortion and lead to inefficient fusion or welding.